Why Pearl-Cohn believes its best football lies in TSSAA football playoffs
· Yahoo Sports
Pearl-Cohn junior and Western Kentucky commit Landan Left has done a little bit of everything on offense this season, and his performance on the ground was crucial in the Firebirds final game of the regular season.
Without out their top running back, Lance Donaldson and struggling offensively in the first half, Left's 94 yards rushing on 12 attempts allowed the Firebirds to find their offense as the game progressed.
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Pearl-Cohn (7-3, 4-0 in Region 6-4A) scored 20-unanswered points in the second half to defeat Liberty Creek, 34-7, on Oct. 30. The Firebirds clinched the top seed in region. Pearl-Cohn will open the TSSAA football playoffs by hosting Montgomery Central at 7 p.m. on Nov. 6.
"With Lance (Donaldson) out, I knew there was going to be more responsibility on me and the other backs tonight," Left said. "We knew just to do our job and don't make it bigger than it has to be. All of our backs can go, so when one goes down, another is ready to step back up."
The Firebirds leaned heavily on that rushing effort in the first half as they struggled to get the passing game going. Quarterback LJ Funk was picked off in the second quarter, which led to Malachi Koenen's 2-yard TD run, the only touchdown of the game for Liberty Creek (7-3, 2-2 Region 6-4A).
Left's pacing on the ground allowed Pearl-Cohn to find its grounding and jump start its offense at the end of the second quarter. Funk located Left through the air on a 13-yard reception to put the Firebirds up, 14-7.
"We started slow and had a few missed assignments, but we went in the locker room, watched film and chopped it up with our position groups," Left said. "We came out and executed in the second half."
While Pearl-Cohn coach Tony Brunetti said he appreciates the win, he's concerned about the Firebirds start against the Wolves.
"Sometimes you think you've got it and sometimes you don't. I don't think we are quite there yet," Brunetti said on the Firebirds playing their best football. "We've got to cut down on the penalties and gotta play better in the first two quarter."
Brunetti said that the Firebirds backtracked a bit from their progression over the past month. In three straight wins against Bartlett, Greenbrier and White House, Pearl-Cohn outscored its opposition 142-26. Against Liberty Creek, while the Firebirds rattled off 12-unasnswered points, the majority of halftime was spent "on the board" going over the basics.
With the regular season in the books, Brunetti's concern about the the slow start comes from what may lay ahead in the playoffs.
"You can't take any team lightly," Brunetti said. "You gotta approach every team the same way you do when you face Alcoa or Springfield."
After falling short of the state tile last season to Alcoa, the assignment has been clear for the Firebirds all season.
"We're going in there (playoffs) with one thing on our mind and that's a gold ball," Left said.
Reach The Tennessean's high school writer, Jack Williams at [email protected] and on the X platform @jackgwilliams.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why Pearl-Cohn believes its best football lies in TSSAA football playoffs